L
lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
Last week, my D&D group was playing at a table in the middle of the room, and a Pathfinder group was playing in a semi-isolated room on the far side of the store.
My group evaded a major obstacle (angry Demilich) without taking any casualties. We let out a cheer of relief.
The Pathfinder table broke into a vigorous round of applause. When the store clerk asked, they told him "We don't know what they just did, but it sounded like something important."
My group evaded a major obstacle (angry Demilich) without taking any casualties. We let out a cheer of relief.
The Pathfinder table broke into a vigorous round of applause. When the store clerk asked, they told him "We don't know what they just did, but it sounded like something important."
Tales and Chronicles
Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
I'll start by saying that I was born in 1990 and only started gaming in 2000 or so, so I dont have the same experience as many poster who lived the era with boxed sets and modules with weird art and cryptic rules 
(I actually prefer those old-school arts to most of the newer stuff)
There's two gaming store in my city. I went to the first one called Le Donjon (The Dungeon) when I was 8-9 years old as it was one of the rare place where they sold Pokemon Card. It watched the older guys playing Warhammer a lot in that place: never understood the rules, but those minis where awesome, like Playmobile for grown ups! I really wished I had the opportunity to one day play with cool figures with actual rules when fighting against your friends.
Then there's the other spot, L'Imaginaire (The Imaginary). This is the place I bought my first DragonLance novel in 2001-2002(dragon something something season) because I loved the art and I just saw the first Lord of the Ring that week and I also bought a used copy of BG2 and also my neighbor (who was an old person of a least 15 years old) invited me to play (I fell in love with the half-elf druid in the player guide) and he lent me his PHB he bought at the same place so I could draw some of the character in my sketchbook...and....and...yeah it was a great week. The kind of week you know you belong in secretive group that actually know L'Imaginaire and buy stuff there; that week I was part of the gang.
Now, those two stores are much bigger and the reality for FLGs is different. Le Donjon closed recently and reopened under a new banner a shop specialized in wargaming where old guys look down on filthy casuals and new players. L'Imaginaire went trough an expansion rush and add some difficulties, they now specialized in every geek and collectible. The place is still friendly, but I fear the older staff might act like the Comic Book guy from the Simpsons most of the time.
So, those places where really a place of awakening, not just for me, but also a bunch of unrelated guys and gals who shared at leat one thing.
(I actually prefer those old-school arts to most of the newer stuff)There's two gaming store in my city. I went to the first one called Le Donjon (The Dungeon) when I was 8-9 years old as it was one of the rare place where they sold Pokemon Card. It watched the older guys playing Warhammer a lot in that place: never understood the rules, but those minis where awesome, like Playmobile for grown ups! I really wished I had the opportunity to one day play with cool figures with actual rules when fighting against your friends.
Then there's the other spot, L'Imaginaire (The Imaginary). This is the place I bought my first DragonLance novel in 2001-2002(dragon something something season) because I loved the art and I just saw the first Lord of the Ring that week and I also bought a used copy of BG2 and also my neighbor (who was an old person of a least 15 years old) invited me to play (I fell in love with the half-elf druid in the player guide) and he lent me his PHB he bought at the same place so I could draw some of the character in my sketchbook...and....and...yeah it was a great week. The kind of week you know you belong in secretive group that actually know L'Imaginaire and buy stuff there; that week I was part of the gang.
Now, those two stores are much bigger and the reality for FLGs is different. Le Donjon closed recently and reopened under a new banner a shop specialized in wargaming where old guys look down on filthy casuals and new players. L'Imaginaire went trough an expansion rush and add some difficulties, they now specialized in every geek and collectible. The place is still friendly, but I fear the older staff might act like the Comic Book guy from the Simpsons most of the time.
So, those places where really a place of awakening, not just for me, but also a bunch of unrelated guys and gals who shared at leat one thing.
jasper
Rotten DM
Battle Tech Bounce.
I was in a used books store which keep a back table for games. The players were setting up BattleTech and I expressed an interest. While they were setting up one of the old vets (of the game) told this story.
OV, I had a 13 year old wanting to play with us. So I gave a ??? the cheapest, weakest, machine gun only model. Me, my buddy Frank, my other buddy Frank, took Level 10 mechs with missiles, lasers, machine guns, armour and shields. All the kid had to do was race from the beginning of the valley to the end. Boy was he surprise when the level 10s step out above him on the ledges and started shooting at him.
He could not damage us at all. But he made me look at the rules. He asked how many hit points and armour the out cropping that Frank was stand on had. I had to look it up. The kid rolled well and blew away the ledge. Frank's mech took 1/2 his hit points of damage when he bounce down the cliff.
On the next turn we blew the kids mech away. And the kid left upset. (insert laughter).
I Just walked away.
*****
ZeroClicx. This was a my current gaming store. But different location and owners. I think was hero clicx they were playing. The guy said I could buy a basic set and sit in. I said I would watch a little bit to get feel of the game. Then Slimeball started talking. No, he was crowing about just last week he talked a new kid out a vary rare figure. He swapped just enough commons to match the price of random box. The very rare figure was going for $60. I suddenly remember my wife wanted me home.
****
I was in a used books store which keep a back table for games. The players were setting up BattleTech and I expressed an interest. While they were setting up one of the old vets (of the game) told this story.
OV, I had a 13 year old wanting to play with us. So I gave a ??? the cheapest, weakest, machine gun only model. Me, my buddy Frank, my other buddy Frank, took Level 10 mechs with missiles, lasers, machine guns, armour and shields. All the kid had to do was race from the beginning of the valley to the end. Boy was he surprise when the level 10s step out above him on the ledges and started shooting at him.
He could not damage us at all. But he made me look at the rules. He asked how many hit points and armour the out cropping that Frank was stand on had. I had to look it up. The kid rolled well and blew away the ledge. Frank's mech took 1/2 his hit points of damage when he bounce down the cliff.
On the next turn we blew the kids mech away. And the kid left upset. (insert laughter).
I Just walked away.
*****
ZeroClicx. This was a my current gaming store. But different location and owners. I think was hero clicx they were playing. The guy said I could buy a basic set and sit in. I said I would watch a little bit to get feel of the game. Then Slimeball started talking. No, he was crowing about just last week he talked a new kid out a vary rare figure. He swapped just enough commons to match the price of random box. The very rare figure was going for $60. I suddenly remember my wife wanted me home.
****
Was running AL Expeditions for my FLGS. One week, a large group of teenagers showed up looking to join the public play program, so I took them on and ran through DDEX1-1 to show 'em the ropes. Nothing too unusual happened, everyone advanced to level 2, and 4 of them had a good enough time to come back for more the next few weeks.
Cool by me, but one player in particular began to confound me. In hindsight I wonder if he was a brilliant troll, but that's probably just me being paranoid. In reality, I think he just lacked a fundamental understanding about the goals of cooperative play. This was the guy who wandered off on his own, tried to steal anything that wasn't bolted down (and some stuff that was), attacked NPCs without apparent cause or justification, and so on.
One of my favorite things that ever happened with this player was when I ran Embers of Elmwood. The party went to fetch the comatose mystery NPC, and his PC, a dragonborn paladin, simply went up to the guards posted over her and breath-weaponed them. The other PCs (somehow, despite his past behavior) did not see this coming, grabbed the coma NPC and ran like hell. The paladin stayed behind and continued fighting, even when more guards appeared. He eventually wised up and tried to flee, but by that point they had him surrounded and chopped him down.
The player just sorta shrugged it off, said he was going to take off rather than wait around to watch the rest of the session, but that he'd be back next week.
Next week rolls around, and I learn from one of that player's friends that he had recently been banned from the store for shoplifting. Games ran much more smoothly after that.
Cool by me, but one player in particular began to confound me. In hindsight I wonder if he was a brilliant troll, but that's probably just me being paranoid. In reality, I think he just lacked a fundamental understanding about the goals of cooperative play. This was the guy who wandered off on his own, tried to steal anything that wasn't bolted down (and some stuff that was), attacked NPCs without apparent cause or justification, and so on.
One of my favorite things that ever happened with this player was when I ran Embers of Elmwood. The party went to fetch the comatose mystery NPC, and his PC, a dragonborn paladin, simply went up to the guards posted over her and breath-weaponed them. The other PCs (somehow, despite his past behavior) did not see this coming, grabbed the coma NPC and ran like hell. The paladin stayed behind and continued fighting, even when more guards appeared. He eventually wised up and tried to flee, but by that point they had him surrounded and chopped him down.
The player just sorta shrugged it off, said he was going to take off rather than wait around to watch the rest of the session, but that he'd be back next week.
Next week rolls around, and I learn from one of that player's friends that he had recently been banned from the store for shoplifting. Games ran much more smoothly after that.
Ath'kethin
Elder Thing
When I was in high school (in a different city from where I grew up), we had a FLGS that was everything I feel an RPG store should be: it was underground (with the entrance painted to look like the gates of a castle, with a real iron gate that could close), dank, and full of nooks and corners. There were miniatures hung on sliding walls that allowed them to be stacked 4 or 5 layers deep, racks and racks of RPG stuff, board games, stuffed animals, everything. There was a narrow passage in the back that led to a soda machine and a video game and then even further back into the bright, well-lit gaming room full of tables.
It's been over 20 years since I've been there, (and actually, the store is now housed in a more traditional storefront type of location), and man I miss that place.
It's been over 20 years since I've been there, (and actually, the store is now housed in a more traditional storefront type of location), and man I miss that place.
Old One Eye
First Post
Early 2000s, I was going to a Magic tournament and got into a head on collision. Not wearing a seat belt, I shattered the windshield with my head. Concussions were not quite in the common knowledge at the time; I considered myself just dazed. And bleeding all over my head from a million tiny cuts.
A buddy also goung to the tournament picked me up after the police/insurance/tow, and I signed up and got my sealed deck/boosters.
So I was the crazy guy at the tourney, dazed from a concussion, and bleeding all over. Really hurt my game, and I lost in the first round or two. My buddy made it to the finals, so I hung around watching him.
Really creeped out several people seeing my. I probably gave FLGS culture a bad name for attracting weirdos that day.
A buddy also goung to the tournament picked me up after the police/insurance/tow, and I signed up and got my sealed deck/boosters.
So I was the crazy guy at the tourney, dazed from a concussion, and bleeding all over. Really hurt my game, and I lost in the first round or two. My buddy made it to the finals, so I hung around watching him.
Really creeped out several people seeing my. I probably gave FLGS culture a bad name for attracting weirdos that day.
L
lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
My wife and kids were visiting family overseas so I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to go to Fantasy Flight for Adventurer's League. He never played AL, so he rolled up a 1st level rogue. We were put at a table with some 3 other new players, one regular, and the DMs dad (7 players in total). The DM was about 12 years old I'm guessing. For his age the DM was quite good I thought, but rather railroady which was rubbing my friend the wrong way. There were a few exchanges where the DM would just say "no" to something my friend wanted to try, but it was when we got to a scene that was designed to be an alley ambush. My friend stated that he stayed outside the ally watch for trouble. The DM played it "buy the book" basically ignoring what my friend said he did and somehow my friend found him self at the end of, but inside the ally, also ambushed. My friend, in his mid 40s, then proceeds to get into a heated argument with a 12-year old DM making everyone at the table uncomfortable. I manage to get him to chill out with reminders of GM is always right, just roll with it, etc. Can't remember what I actually said.
After the game I had to give him about arguing over a game with a 12 year old kid. I find it hilarious and I have to give that kid kudos for assertively controlling the game and shutting down a 40-something "problem" player. With some work on improvising better, he'll become an excellent DM.
After the game I had to give him
about arguing over a game with a 12 year old kid. I find it hilarious and I have to give that kid kudos for assertively controlling the game and shutting down a 40-something "problem" player. With some work on improvising better, he'll become an excellent DM.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
I have one, albeit a tale that’s a little gross.
This would have been at Comics Store West in the early 90s. Carrying comics, RPGs, anime VHS, and more, they were always super-nice and friendly there. The one employee borrowed my ankh (what teenage goth didn’t have one of those back then?) to dress up as Death for Halloween.
One time, my brother and I walked in to see a young teen shamefully cleaning the carpet. Apparently, he had thrown up in the store. I can still remember him looking up and saying “I guess I shouldn’t have eaten the Bluelight Special at Kmart.”
This would have been at Comics Store West in the early 90s. Carrying comics, RPGs, anime VHS, and more, they were always super-nice and friendly there. The one employee borrowed my ankh (what teenage goth didn’t have one of those back then?) to dress up as Death for Halloween.
One time, my brother and I walked in to see a young teen shamefully cleaning the carpet. Apparently, he had thrown up in the store. I can still remember him looking up and saying “I guess I shouldn’t have eaten the Bluelight Special at Kmart.”
